Sailing Adventures of s/v Talos IV: San Sebastian de Oeste

While in La Cruz we went on a tour to the mining town of San Sabastian. The group was small, 9 adults including the tour leader. All of us were cruisers and a good time was had en route discussing boat problems and solutions, sharing anchorage information and in general enjoying the company. The tour leader was a gringo lady who has lived in La Cruz for 20 years or more. She shared her knowledge of the area and discussed changes that had occurred over time. We stopped to see a pyramid site just recently discovered within town. To the untrained eye it looks like a pile of rocks. The experts now declare it a site of historical significance. Halfway up the mountains, about 2000 ft we stopped at a plantation which in its day was a major working site for the selling of silver ore. Since the 1960s the working hacienda has served as a very secret hideaway for the stars of Hollywood. Such names as John Houston and his leading ladies of the cinema relaxed here while shooting movies. The hacienda had wonderful lwooded grounds somewhat overgrown but very lush with a lot of citrus and flowers.

Further on up the road we stopped for lunch at a local cocina. The lunch was prearranged and everything was prepared from scratch. We had the standard chips and salsa followed by tortillas and Mexican cheese quesadillas. This was followed by rice, beans and a mole chicken that was unlike any mole I had ever tasted. You could really pick out the layers in the sauce. The chicken was exceptionally moist as well. We had agua fresca and beer for our drinks. The price for the lunch was 110 peso (a little less than $10.00 US) Now that we were completely stuffed we drove on to San Sabastian.

San Sabastian is a silver mining town which has been declared a cultural site. The mines have been shut down for several years and the population now is about 200 or less. The average age of resident is 60+. The town is important from an epidemiological perspective because the residents live well beyond the national average. The residents just recently acquired electricity. The town is traditionally painted white with red borders around the buildings foundation. Homes have covered porches and businesses generally do not. Roofs are red tile. The tile shape is the result of the clay being laid over the workers thigh while still soft. This is why the tiles are all a little different size. The homes are constructed of adobe and sit on cobblestone foundations to preserve the adobe. The streets are narrow and cobblestone. The town is unspoiled and probably is now as it was for generations. The mining companies in Canada have recently worked with the Mexican government and located a huge silver lode in the region. Rumor is that the huge amount of silver that came out of these mines in San Sabastian’s heyday were miniscule compared to what is still there. As such there were many workers doing research while we hiked up to the mine shafts. I expect in a year or so the place will not be the same. We were able to enter one of the main mine shafts and hike back in about 100 yards. It is hard to believe the community had men and children as young as 5 or 6 years old working to bring out the ore by hand.